Victorian deer hunters hit target with 173,800 shot across state
Deer hunters spent 344,604 days out in Victoria stalking their prey last year, with just-released data underscoring the value of the harvest to regional communities.
DEER hunting is booming in Victoria, with the 2019 harvest up 43 per cent, year-on-year, to a record 173,800.
Once again it was sambar deer that caught the eyes and scopes of most hunters, with 131,258 taken, followed by 30,300 fallow, 3277 red and 183 hog deer.
The Arthur Rylah Institute’s report on the 2019 harvest, released today, shows just how valuable deer hunting is to regional Victoria, with Mansfield, Dargo, Licola, Wodonga and Myrtleford listed as the top five towns for the total number of reported deer hunting days.
All up, by the end of 2019 Victoria’s 41,985 deer licence holders racked up 344,604 days of hunting, up 45 per cent on 2018.
The ARI research also shows that each active licensed deer hunter harvested an average of 6.8 deer and was active for an average of 13.6 days in 2019, while those using hounds took 10.5 each.
In fact the success of hound hunting led to a 70 per cent increase in the numbers of deer harvested in 2019, compared to the previous year, with the number of deer hunting days up 51 per cent.
“The findings in the report show recreational deer hunting has grown in popularity with more hunters successfully harvesting more deer,” GMA chief executive Graeme Ford said.
“It is important to collect information about the number of deer harvested by recreational hunters each year. This information is used to help inform decisions about deer management and the management of hunting on public and private land in Victoria. Thank you to all the hunters who participated in the research.”
Throughout 2019, 2600 licensed deer hunters were surveyed to gather information about their hunting activity, including how many deer they harvested, where they hunted, what hunting methods were used and the species of deer they harvested.
The full report is available here.
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